The convener of Self Made Movement, Saheed Keshinro popularly known as Africa said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) handled the economy better than the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Keshinro, who made this remark in a statement made available to journalists decried the downward economic situation of the nation under the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC.
He said: “In six years in power, there is no single original idea of note that has emanated from the APC. What it has been doing is to claim PDP’s ideas as its own. APC claims credit for the Treasury Single Account (TSA) when in fact, it is of PDP inspiration. It claims credit for the turn-around maintenance of our refineries, when it is in fact a Jonathan/PDP legacy.
“APC claims credit for the rehabilitation of rail lines in Nigeria, but the truth is that this was essentially a PDP initiative. It claimed that PDP stole the money earmarked for buying weapons to fight Boko Haram, and then went ahead to use the same weapons it said were non-existent to equip the army to fight Boko Haram. Former Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Chairman, Sam Amadi, stressed that improvements in power supply are the result of the efforts made by the Jonathan administration.”
“If we are now celebrating the end of polio in Nigeria, it has nothing to do with the APC and everything to do with the PDP. If we are indeed well on our way to self-sufficiency in rice production, it is because of the activities of the PDP, and not because of the inactivity of APC. In six years, APC has added precious little to PDP’s achievements. On the contrary, it has reduced many of the milestone achievement to nothing.”
“Our international reputation is winding down; Bill Gates hailed Nigeria’s fight against polio under Jonathan and the PDP as one of the great world achievements of 2014. However, the same Bill Gates identifies Nigeria under Buhari and the APC as one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth, with the fourth worst maternal mortality rate in the old. He also identified the government’s economic policy as dismally ineffectual.”
“Indeed, everything under this APC government has gone from bad to worse. The economy is worse. The cost of living is worse. The security situation is worse. The naira is worse. The unity of Nigerians is worse. The corruption index is worse. The electricity situation is worse. The ministers in the presidential cabinet are worse. The liberty of Nigerians is worse. The rule of law is worse. The political climate is toxic. The Nigerian economy is worse.
“We are not just witnessing an incompetent government. We are saddled with one that merely watches while we are being murdered in our homes, farms and churches. We are saddled with a government that tells us the choice we have is either to lose our land to Fulani headers or lose our lives. A government that defines itself as a northern government, instead of a national government; and has all its security architecture in the hands of northerners.”
“In 16 years in power, the PDP not only cleared Nigeria’s debts of some $30 billion, it borrowed a total of N6 trillion or a little higher. However, in just six years, the APC has returned Nigeria to the debtor status and borrowed a whopping N36 trillion and still borrowing.
“The APC is the party that boasts of integrity but lacks integrity. This ensures it embarrasses itself with one scandal after the other. From the Babachir Lawal’s ‘grasscutter’ scandal, Abdulrashid Maina’s pension and recall scam, the NHIS scandal, the EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu’s scandal, Kemi Adeosun NYSC certificate forgery scandal, Abba Kyari super cop scandal. The APC fails to act against corruption while nevertheless fooling itself that it is a champion of the anti-corruption struggle. They re-loot the entire looted recovered fund at every giving opportunity in guise of trader money with proper account and statistical documentation.”
“Unlike the proverbial charity, APC’s anti-corruption war does not begin at home in the APC. The party encourages and molly-cuddles the corrupt. Indeed, it has an open-door policy for the corrupt. Once you are in APC or you decamp to APC, you are automatically whitewashed from allegations of corruption.
“Once you have corruption allegations to answer before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), all you need to do is defect to the APC and you will be welcome with open arms. Your corruption case will also suddenly disappear. This is the case with Godswill Akpabio, Femi Fani Kayode, and Stella Oduah. Who had a pending case of corruption with the EFCC but has now quickly defected from the PDP to the APC.”
“The anti-corruption struggle for the APC is in declaring Rotimi Amaechi innocent until proven guilty, while proclaiming Diezani Allison-Madueke guilty until proven innocent. PDP is a national party. As a matter of fact, it remains the only national party in Nigeria, Its membership and strength stretch from North to South and East to West.
Not so the APC. The APC is a sectarian party. It is an agglomeration of regional parties that merged together for the sake of capturing the presidency. Once this happened, their sectarianism came back to the fore.”
“On his inauguration, the president told Nigerians: “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.” However, the APC has turned out to be essentially a North-West and South-West party in the first term and got worse during the second term and has effectively divided Nigeria along regional lines. On his election, the president went to the U.S. where he declared that: “The constituents (that) gave me 97 per cent cannot in all honesty be treated on some issues with constituencies that gave me 5 per cent.”
That means the president can largely overlook the South-East and the South-South in appointments. It also means Fulani herdsmen from the North can continue to kill innocent farmers all over the country, while government sees no evil and hears no evil.”
“Nevertheless, we cannot insist APC did not bring change. It brought change but it was change that pauperised Nigeria. APC brought change from peace to restiveness; it brought change from gainful employment to job insecurity and massive unemployment; it brought change from national unity to sectarianism; it brought change from good health to medical check-ups; it brought change from life to death by herdsmen.”
“It brought change from $1 exchanging for N190 to $1 exchanging for N570; it brought change from N87 fuel to N145 fuel; it brought change from 20 tomatoes selling for N50 to one tomato selling for N100; it brought change from hope to despair; it brought change from light to darkness.
“APC is cancerous in nature and can’t be compared to PDP with just malaria that is curable. PDP remain better managers compared to the present misrule and misgoverned by the clueless and visionless leadership of the APC led government.
